Long Live the Queen
by grrlgeek72
Summary: Elsa and Arendelle are players on the world stage now. But being a peacemaker often makes enemies. Anna is celebrating a promotion when she gets one she never wanted. Did she lose her sister to an accident? Or an assassin? And can she figure it out before it's too late... Major character death. A modern au set in the "Pin My Wings" 'verse, used by permission of jedijae.
1. Chapter 1

**Long Live the Queen**

 **This is the first chapter of what will be a multi-chapter fic. It has already been posted on jedijae's account as chapter 7 of "The Service Log of A Arendelle"**

If you are not familiar with the "Pin My Wings" modern au that jedijae created, you are missing a treat.

An au of the "Pin My Wings" au, which is the property of jedijae/thegeekogecko and written by grrlgeek72 with jedijae's kind permission. Also, "M.C. Fitzwilliam" is a character created and fleshed out by stillslightlynerdy (elym13 on tumblr). Revel Handler was originated by J.E. Glass.

We borrow each other's characters, don't you know?

Jae and I were kicking some concepts around and I came up with this one, because … well, you'll see.

Warning: I'm known for bar fights and wringing tears from my readers.

This story is not about bar fights. Bring hankies. Major character death. Don't say I didn't warn you!

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"To the Queen!" intoned Ensign Frollstern, the most junior officer at the table.

"The Queen!" responded the rest of the soldiers sitting around the table at the Inn overlooking the shore of the fjord in Arendelle city.

"My sister, long may she reign!" intoned Crown Princess Anna of Arendelle, then slammed back the glass of Brennevin. The rest did as well, having politely deferred to the Princess.

"Bartender, another round, here!" Anna waved at the woman making drinks.

"Uh, LT, are you sure that's smart? We've been wetting down those new Captain's bars for a while now!" Bit Lockhart was Anna's permanent bodyguard. Had been for several years. He still had a hard time keeping up with his young charge.

"Oh, chill, Bit! You sound more like Elsa with every passing year! And I am no longer an LT!" Anna's silly grin showed that she had indeed been celebrating her latest promotion for some time.

"You'll always be LT to me, LT. That first assignment of mine, chasing you through the damned African jungle dodging bullets kinda seared that into my brain!" Bit sipped at his drink, a fuzzy head was contraindicated for someone charged with keeping a Princess alive in the course of a rather daredevil life. Between dodging bullets from unfriendly strangers to flying SAR missions that few sane pilots would attempt, Bit was turning gray fast.

 _"Of course, Anna's mentor and role model ISN'T one of the few sane pilots, is she now?"_ Bit thought to himself.

He was referring to Colonel M.C. Fitzwilliam, USA, hotshot pilot and commanding officer of the US Army's Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Fitz, as she was known, had literally come swooping in to save both Bit and Anna in the course of that first mission. Anna had bonded with her immediately, like a duckling imprinting on its mother. And decided to emulate Fitz in every way possible, including becoming a helicopter pilot.

The party went on until the wee hours, long past the normal closing time of the establishment. But no bar, inn, or restaurant in Arendelle was going to kick out the Crown Princess. They'd keep serving until she staggered out on her own or the Queen sent someone to fetch her.

"It's unfortunate Elsa got called to Brussels to try to referee that dustup," Bit commented. Arendelle's neutrality and previous diplomatic work had led to Elsa being considered **just** the person to moderate some of the more contentious disagreements among the various pieces that fell out of the breakup of the European Union.

Anna shrugged. "I wish she had been here to pin on the bars, but we agreed to get together when she got back." Anna took a drink and said, wistfully, "I haven't seen enough of her thanks to this last deployment. It'll be good to spend some time together and catch up."

"Okay, last call! One more round and back to quarters!" Anna waved her glass at her comrades.

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"Wake up! Please wake up, Your Majesty!"

Someone was shaking Anna's shoulder and it made the pounding in her head worse. She pulled away and buried her face in her pillow and mumbled, "Go 'way, it's Sunday, no duty. Sleep!"

The shaking stopped, but Anna felt someone sit on the bed and caress her shoulder more gently. "Anna, please, wake up. We … need to talk."

Recognition of the voice penetrated Anna's hangover. It was Gerda. What was she doing in the BOQ of the Arendelle garrison? Anna tried to sit up, failed, but managed to roll over. "Gerda?"

The first voice spoke again, "Your Majesty, please! It's urgent!"

Anna's eyes were still tightly shut against the bright sunlight streaming through the window so she didn't see the glare of anger Gerda sent at the Admiral standing in the room.

A weak groan escaped Anna's lips as she wondered what the hell the man was babbling on about. "Her Majesty" was Elsa, not Anna. Anna was properly addressed as "Your Highness", until and unless something happened … to … the … Queen.

Anna sat bolt upright and stared at Gerda, all traces of alcohol dissolved by the adrenaline shooting through her body. "Gerda? What's wrong?"

Her face red, eyes brimming with tears, Gerda tried to speak and couldn't. Now Anna was frightened. She had never seen Gerda like this before. No, she **had** seen this before – the night Anna and Elsa had been told about their parents.

Throwing back the blankets, Anna sat up next to Gerda and looked around her room. Bit was standing just inside the door, arms crossed, his face a grim mask. The Admiral was the highest ranking officer in Arendelle's military, reflecting the maritime heritage of the Kingdom.

"What's wrong? Tell me!" Anna demanded.

Admiral Haldorsen stood to attention and said, "Your Majesty, it is my sad duty to inform you that Arendelle has lost its Queen in a tragic accident. Queen Elsa is dead. Long live Queen Anna of Arendelle." Then he bowed.

There. Those words. The words Anna had never ever wanted to hear. Elsa was … dead? No, this is just a drunken nightmare!

The stifled sob from Gerda jerked Anna up short. No, not a nightmare. Or rather, a nightmare of reality.

Anna put her arm around Gerda, trying to comfort the older woman while her own brain rattled around trying to make sense of what was happening. She knew she was in shock, that the impact hadn't hit with full force yet. That would come, it was inevitable, but for now there was a wrapping of fuzziness to her thoughts that was insulating her from the horror of losing Elsa, losing her sister.

"What happened?" Anna asked. "What kind of an accident?" Her voice was soft, a little rough.

The Admiral cleared his throat and said, "Her plane was on approach to Arendelle when we lost contact. It just fell off the radar. There was no radio calls of a Mayday, or any other indication that there was a problem. When we sent out a full Search and Rescue force, the Navy found a debris field about 5 miles out from shore. The markings indicate the wreckage was from the Queen's plane." He stopped, then went on, "There were no survivors found. Dive teams are going down to search as we speak."

"No survivors YET. You may not have found them YET?" Anna knew it was a slender reed to lean on.

"It is … unlikely, Your Majesty." Anna hated that title, she almost, ALMOST screamed at him to stop using it. "The water temperature this far north at this time of year would … be fatal within minutes."

"Not for my sister! Cold wouldn't bother her!" Anna was grasping at straws now.

"That's true. But I am sorry that I can't give you false hope, Your Majesty. The condition of the wreckage we found makes it unlikely that anyone survived the crash to make it into the water." He continued, "As I said, we have dive teams going down now." He cleared his throat again. "If I may be excused, Your Majesty? I need to get back to the command center and coordinate the search for the remains of the aircraft." He tactfully left out the part about remains of the people on board.

Anna nodded, she no longer trusted herself to speak. The Admiral left, Bit closed the door behind him, then sat heavily in one of the chairs. Anna leaned into Gerda, feeling the tears coming and no longer wanting to hold them back. She rocked back and forth in Gerda's embrace and let the grief take her.

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It was dark now.

Anna had gotten dressed, with Gerda's help, packed up her stuff from the BOQ and gone back to the Castle with Gerda, Bit, and a very grim squad of Queen's Own. At the castle, Anna refused to go into the Queen's Apartments, choosing her old room instead.

The day had been a whirlwind of meetings, conference calls, more meetings, and updates from the Admiral. The search effort continued through the night, as sunlight never penetrated to the ocean floor at the crash site in any case.

Search sonar had located what looked like wreckage at a spot where the water was about 500 meters deep. Special ROVs were being used to go down and map the debris field, but they were too small to be able to bring anything to the surface. The US Navy had volunteered one of their deep sea dive teams equipped with special atmospheric diving suits (ADS). They would arrive in the morning and go down and try to recover any … bodies.

Anna lay on her bed, her arm thrown across her eyes, no more tears for now, she had exhausted them for the time being. Her thoughts kept running around like a puffin on a hamster wheel.

A soft knock on the door pulled her out of her reverie. "What?" Anna snarled. She had left strict instructions that she was not to be disturbed.

"Anna, it's me, Bit. I wouldn't bother you, but Fitz called me. She tried to call you but it rolled right to voicemail."

"Ugh. Hang on, I think I turned my phone off last night and just threw it in my duffle." Anna dragged herself to the closet and rummaged around until the missing phone was located. "Come on in, Bit."

She cursed as the phone didn't immediately come to life. Dead battery, no doubt. Anna sat on the bed and pulled a charger out of the bedstand drawer, plugged it in, and waited for the phone to turn on.

Of course, there were a thousand missed calls and unread messages. Anna had some pretty strong filters on her phone, so there were probably ten thousand calls and messages from newsies and other professional snoops that never made it through.

Anna scrolled through the list, then stopped dead and dropped the phone.

Bit said, "Anna? What's wrong?" His charge had turned white as every bit of blood drained from her face.

"Elsa. There's a voicemail from Elsa …" Anna reached down, her hand visibly shaking, picked up the phone and managed to punch up voicemail after three tries. She stifled a sob as her sister's voice spoke to her.

 _"Hi, honey! We just took off from Brussels! Ugh! The usual nonsense – the Muscovians are stirring the pot again and now apparently Hans has decided to hitch his wagon to_ _Imanovajov_ _and Muscovia."_ Anna could hear the eyeroll in her sister's voice. The recording continued, _"But enough of idiots trying to play dominance games. I'm really sorry I had to miss your promotion ceremony and I promise I'll make it up to you! I'm clearing my calendar for the next couple of days and we'll do all the special stuff we do when we haven't seen each other for too long!"_ Elsa's voice turned soft and gentle. _"I love you, Anna. Miss you. Really looking forward to the warm hug I know you'll have for me! Bye for now!"_

All Anna could do was stare at the phone in her shaking hand. She had missed Elsa's call because she had been in a drunken stupor and … the phone shattered against the wall as Anna threw it with every ounce of strength she had. Then she began to sob.

Bit wasn't sure what to do. He finally went and sat down next to Anna and put an arm around her. She turned into him and cried even harder while he tried to make soothing sounds and comfort her as best he could.

 _"I wonder if this really was an accident,"_ Bit thought to himself. The Queen's airplane was probably better cared for and maintained than Air Force One. It was the very newest model of 12-passenger jet, sleek and modern, totally fly-by-wire with all the latest safety features. It was checked and re-checked every time the Queen was scheduled to use it. It was guarded around the clock by humorless Arendelle Marines, whether in its own hangar in Arendelle and even more vigilantly if it was somewhere else, like Brussels. NO ONE who was not a vetted citizen of Arendelle was allowed near that plane. It couldn't be sabotaged, not with that kind of security. Bit shrugged to himself and pushed the thought away.

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The next afternoon, Anna blew off everyone who wanted her attention and went to the Command Center where Admiral Haldorsen and his staff were coordinating the search effort. The US Navy team was at the wreck site and transmitting pictures of what they were seeing. The view was limited because the only light was from the lamps on the dive suits.

"It's the Queen's plane, all right." A voice with an American accent was speaking. "The tail number is visible on the chunk of fuselage that broke off." There was a grunt of effort. Moving around in the hard suits was non-trivial. "The rest of the fuselage is pretty broken up. Must have hit the water at high speed. We're going to check for … uh, passenger seats." There was silence except for the sibilant breathing of the diver.

Every eye was glued to the monitors that showed what the cameras on the dive suits saw. The water was murky, even with the spotlights from the dive lamps. Anna could see what looked to be seats, but they were crumpled and smashed. The lamp swung and there was what looked to be a body … The picture went to black.

"No, Your Majesty. We're not going to watch this in real time." Admiral Haldorsen interrupted what Anna was about to say. She had immediately turned to him when the screen blanked out. His face was grimly determined. "We're going to let the divers do their recovery, and bring our friends and our Queen back to us. But we aren't going to watch."

Anna suddenly realized that she didn't want to see what was down there. Because it had to be bad, very bad. She nodded, then tried to speak and failed. She cleared her throat and finally managed, "You're right, Admiral. I shall return to the castle and await your report." She rose from her chair and left, Bit Lockhart close behind.

Once he was certain she was gone, Haldorsen nodded to the operator at the console to bring up the pictures again. He had his duty.

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It took three days for the funerals.

The first day was for the crew of the aircraft, all long term veterans of service to the Crown. And the members of Elsa's staff that had accompanied her to Brussels.

The second day was for the Queen's Own, including Revel Handler, who all died guarding their Queen. Bit Lockhart was a stoic man, but Revel was an old friend, not just his boss. Now he had a new boss, Colonel Georg Hvammer, Revel's long time second in command. Hvammer immediately assigned more Queen's Own to Anna's detail, and made Bit their commander.

They had found Revel strapped into his seat, right next to the Queen. Most of Revel, at least. Same for the Queen. The crash had been catastrophic, the bodies broken and mutilated. No one could have survived.

The dive team had managed to find most of the pieces, the mortuary team had grouped them and identified everyone on the plane. There was no doubt about identification, but there would be sealed caskets for the funerals.

Bit shuddered as he remembered having to physically restrain Anna from going into the morgue. She kicked and screamed at him, but he wouldn't let her see her sister in death. "NO, Anna! You CAN'T! Dear lord, you won't be able to unsee that, you will never be able to remember her smiling and laughing." He picked her up, ignoring the fists pounding on his chest and the kicks to his legs. "You have to listen to me. I've made this mistake myself in my life, I won't let you do this!"

And so he carried her away, and took her to her room, and left her in Gerda's care. Kristoff was hovering outside the door when Bit came into the hallway. He and Anna had become good friends over the years they flew together. Bit thought there was more than just friendship stirring between them recently. Bit hoped so, Anna would need someone closer than a friend as she settled into being Queen.

 _"Not to mention heirs. There's no one right now,"_ Bit thought grimly.

"How is she?" Kristoff asked, voice husky. He had admired Elsa and saw more of her than the average Arendelle citizen. Her death was that of a real person to him, not some ceremonial mannequin on a dais. Not to mention his pain for Anna's sake.

"Not good, Kristoff. I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep her away from the morgue. She'll be pissed at me for a long time for that."

"It's the right thing to do, though, Bit. Eventually she'll realize that."

"I hope so." Bit sighed, shook his head, then said, "I need to go finish up the funeral arrangements for the day after tomorrow. Anna wants you as an official pallbearer, so if you don't have a full mess dress uniform, go get one. The tailor shop knows you're coming and you have an open account. Later."

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It had been 11 years since the last state funeral for a reigning monarch. Not long enough, as far as Anna was concerned. After her parents died, Anna had hoped that Elsa would live to be 100. And have lots of kids, so Anna could live her carefree life in the military. So much for that plan.

Since Elsa had been a player in international politics, there were many heads of state that had come to pay their respects. Including some Anna would just as soon have dumped in the fjord with rocks in their pockets, like Hans of the Southern Isles and Yuri Imanovajov. The only person in the Muscovian delegation that Anna didn't sneer at was Captain Aleksei Vasilek, Imanovajov's nephew. _"No, COLONEL Vasilek, now. Promotion comes fast for favorite nephews of murderous despots,"_ Anna's sour thought was unfair to the Colonel. She had saved his life during her Central African adventure, he really was a good guy. _"And not a bad dancer."_

Although there would be no dancing at this gathering.

Neema Sefu was there, of course, her small country had become stable and prosperous with the help of Arendelle and Arendelle's royals. Anna made sure that Neema had a place of honor, a much better place than Hans and Imanutjob. THEM she stuck in the last row of mourners, and would have left them on park benches in the city center if she had been able to convince her advisors to let her.

The US contingent included Colonel M.C. Fitzwilliam. Anna had asked Fitz if she was willing to be a pallbearer. Anna asked, rather than just telling Fitz, because Anna knew there was a long felt unrequited love that Fitz had for Elsa. If the thought of being a pallbearer, or even attending the funeral was too painful, she wanted Fitz to have an out.

"I would be honored, Your Majesty," Fitz had murmured. She was as unreadable as Bit, but Anna knew her feelings were deep and troubled.

And so Elsa was borne to her final rest by 8 specially chosen people, and another dozen honorary pallbearers following the caisson.

The citizens of Arendelle lined the road to the royal graveyard, holding candles or throwing crocus petals in front of the horse-drawn caisson. The mahogony and teak casket was large, draped with the flag of Arendelle and a huge bouquet of gold, purple and white crocus flowers.

At last the prayers and invocations were finished and Elsa's casket waited to be lowered into the ground next to her parents. The bishop said a final "Amen", then led the crowd of mourners away, leaving only a few behind. Anna and Kristoff. Bit and Fitz, Gerda and the rest of Elsa's personal staff.

Anna stared at the coffin and let the tears flow. She had held them back until now because she was the Queen, and had to set an example. She had finally given up on seeing Elsa, but had insisted that they put something of hers in with Elsa to take with her. It was a picture of the two of them from the aftermath of Anna's first parachute jump. Anna had landed in a pond, and was a muddy mess, and because she had picked her sister up in a bear hug, so was Elsa. They had huge grins on their faces as they faced Revel's phone camera, arms around each other, together again after a long separation.

 _"I'll never be the Queen you were, Elsa. Never. But I'll do my best to make you proud of me. I know you're with mama and papa, so at least there's that. Hug them for me."_ Anna leaned over and kissed the polished wood of the coffin.

She turned away and looked at her family and friends. "Okay. It's done. I've got the duty now. Long live the Queen." There was a bitter taste to her words. She was sure that bitter taste would linger. For now, she had her duty to perform.

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 **Author's note:** grrlgeek72 here. So jedijae and I were kicking around plot bunnies and this particular bunny hopped out of the pile and so jae said, "write it!" and so I did.

And then it turned out that the plot bunny had plot bunnies, and this is just the first chapter of what apparently is going to be a longer multi-chapter fic in an au of the "Pin My Wings" universe. We're postied this first chapter in "Service Log of A Arendelle", and will post the rest of the story on my fanfiction dot net account.

An **alternate universe** to an alternate universe. In the REAL "Pin My Wings" universe, Elsa is alive and well and thumping her head on her desk at the antics of her feisty little sister and jae has many good plot ideas that don't involve the tears of her readers.

Ain't fanfiction grand?

All subsequent chapters will be published here. Buckle up, friends of Arendelle. This has all the earmarks of a spy thriller.

And if you haven't read "Pin My Wings", why not? Go, shoo, read! Also 'Once and Future Queen' by jedijae. I love her modern au's because the two sisters are perfectly in character. In too many modern au's they are so generic they need nametags for us to recognize them. (OaFQ is a slow burn elsanna yarn, BTW)


	2. Chapter 2

Between her royal upbringing and the long ruck marches she had endured as a member of Arendelle's military, Anna had no problem being on her feet for long periods of time. Especially since her floor length dress disguised the fact that she was wearing comfortable flats instead of heels.

She was still dressed in traditional Arendelle mourning garb for the wake that followed Elsa's funeral – although she had taken off the cap and long cloak that she had worn to the grave site. The dress was a gray so deep it looked black, with dark purple and green rosmaling; she hated all of it.

Kai Brevik, the Royal Chamberlain, announced, "the Honorable Harold Rogers, Ambassador of the United States of America!" A short, gray-haired portly man with a florid complexion stepped forward.

"So sorry for your loss, Your Majesty. Queen Elsa was very special," murmured the US Ambassador. He nodded in the gesture the Americans used to avoid bowing to royalty and made room for the next dignitary in the receiving line.

Who was President Yuri Imanovajov of the Republic of Muscovia, number two on Anna's hate list, right behind President Hans Westergard of the Southern Isles. Hans apparently had decided that kissing the Muscovian's backside was a great diplomatic coup, based on Elsa's voicemail and a followup analysis by Arendelle's Foreign Minister Karl Stenhammer.

There was one member of the Muscovian delegation that Anna was glad to see – Colonel Aleksei Vasilek, the President's favorite nephew. He actually was a really good guy. _"Probably the only one in Muscovia,"_ Anna thought sourly. She had saved the man's life on a couple of occasions in Central Africa on her first crazy adventure as a newly minted 2nd Lieutenant.

"I am so sorry, Your Majesty. Your sister was an extraordinary person, and I know what a terrible loss this is for you," Aleksei had stepped forward to bow to Anna after his uncle had left, trailed by a security guard.

"Thank you, Aleksei. And in private, please, I'm still Anna, the crazy lady who jumped into the jungle with you," Anna replied. "Speaking of private, I'm having a very small, very private meal after this … circus. I would like you to be there if you can escape from your uncle."

"I am honored, Your Majesty. I will hint to my uncle's security that I have my eye on one of your very personable aides. That's a rather disgusting thing to say, but very believable to my uncle." Aleksei's expression told Anna how he felt about that. "He would love for me to have an 'in', as you say, to your staff."

"Thank you. I'll send someone for you when it's time." Anna nodded to acknowledge his respectful bow.

Before Aleksei could take his leave, he was jostled by the next 'dignitary' in line, Hans Westergard, who pushed forward and attempted to take Anna's hand to kiss.

She recoiled and sneered, "Hans, you know the protocol. No touching the monarch. What horse barn were you raised in?"

Hans ignored the insult and smirked, "Why, 'Your Majesty', I simply assumed that you would appreciate the comfort of a peer. Your loss is terrible and I am sure that the grief for your sister is overwhelming, but … it will fade, and once it does, I am prepared to seek your hand in marriage. Arendelle will need heirs, and the union of our two nations will be a powerful force in Europe."

Anna could hear the scare quotes around her title, and the breathtaking audacity of his suggestion of marriage had her sputtering in disgust, momentarily at a loss for words.

Before Hans could say anything even more insulting, Aleksei stepped up and suggested, "President Westergard, now that you have offered your … condolences, I'm sure there are pressing matters that you must deal with elsewhere?" He attitude was one of profound formality and propriety. Only someone who knew him well could see the tension of rigid self-control.

Hans was too stupid to see the warning signs and sneered, "If I ever need advice on my duties, Colonel, be sure that I will not seek them from a jumped-up boy who only has his position due to the largesse of an indulgent uncle."

The rest of the room had become rather quiet, as Hans hadn't bothered to lower his voice. Most of the people who knew how little love there was between Arendelle and the Southern Isles had been watching Hans closely since he had entered the gathering and were now listening while pretending not to.

Dismissing Aleksei from his attention, Hans turned back to Anna and in his most cloying voice leered at the Queen, "I'm truly sorry your sister is dead, but frankly you and I make a much better match. She was a tad too … frigid … for my tastes. Your fiery demeanor is far superior for the purpose of creating suitable heirs to our nations."

Anna's sight turned red as her fury spiked at the arrogant bastard standing in front of her. "The only match I'd make for you, Hans, is the one I'd use to light your sorry ass on fire! Get out!"

Hans made no move to leave, snickering at the angry woman in front of him. Bit Lockhart was balancing on the balls of his feet preparatory to grabbing Hans by his ridiculous sideburns and frogmarching him to a window and throwing him out of it.

He was beat to it by Aleksei, who punched Hans in the face without any windup or other warning. Anna didn't know much of the Muscovian language, but she recognized the obscenity Aleksei growled at Westergard while decking him. She giggled, even through her anger and grief.

The President of the Southern Isles flew backward and knocked over one of his own security guards. It was clear his nose was broken as blood flowed freely down his face onto the white shirt of his mourning suit. Swearing profusely, Hans tried to get up and take on Aleksei, but Bit and the rest of Anna's bodyguards were between him and his prey. From the looks on their faces, they would be ecstatic if Hans tried anything further.

"You'll pay for that, you … I'll have your head for this!" Hans screamed at Aleksei.

Vasilek shrugged. "I think you will find that the largesse of my indulgent uncle extends to the fact that I have diplomatic immunity, Мудак."

Bit gestured at the Queen's Own and they were most punctiliously polite as they escorted the sputtering, bleeding man from the room.

"He's persona non grata. I want him outside our borders as fast as you can get him there. Use a catapult if you don't have anything quicker! And if he ever tries to come back, shoot him!" Anna growled.

"Are you sure that's … prudent, Your Majesty?" Kai asked.

"I. Don't. Care. I'll shoot him myself if I have to," Anna said through gritted teeth. "Are we finished? I've had it with the standing around and listening to insincere wishes of condolences."

Kai replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. Westergard was the last of them."

"Okay then. Shuffle the crowd out of here, except for the special guests on the list I gave you, Kai." Anna stomped out the door that led to the private residence.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Kai murmured at her retreating back.

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It was a small gathering, just the very special people that had been closest to the sisters. Kai, Gerda, Aggie. Kristoff, Bit, Fitz, Aleksei. A few more, a dozen or so total.

The venue was an intimate family dining room, sealed from the outside world by the Queen's Own.

The meal that had been served was simple, but prepared with special attention by the cooks as they knew why Anna had invited these people. Dessert was finished, and now Anna nodded to Kai, who tapped his glass with a knife to get the group's attention. The conversation had been subdued in any case, but it died out completely now.

Anna had prepped Bit with instructions for what she had wanted, and he rose now, on cue.

The footmen had filled everyone's wine glass so Bit raised his and spoke. "Friends, a last toast to our fallen friends and comrades." The entire group rose and held their glasses in anticipation. "To those who fell in service to Arendelle and her Queen! What you have been we will never forget."

Everyone responded, "Never forget!" and drank their wine. The glasses were quickly refilled, and this time Anna sat back down. Bit waited a beat, then went on, "Queen Elsa is dead, long live Queen Anna of Arendelle"

The new Queen sat stoically as a single tear ran down her cheek while she listened to her friends echo the toast. Once their glasses were drained, she rose and said, "Thank you, for everything. This burden would be too much to bear without your love and support."

That was the end of the wake, as far as Anna was concerned. She was exhausted, and her friends could see it. Kai gathered them up by eye and began moving toward the door. "Fitz, could I have a moment?" Anna called out just before the Colonel could leave the room. Bit did leave and pulled the door shut behind him, leaving the two women alone.

"Sit, please." Anna waved at the chair next to her.

Fitzwilliam was in the full mess dress uniform of the US Army, a gaudy outfit that wouldn't be out of place in a Sigmund Romberg operetta, complete with cape. Anna smirked and waved a hand at the trousers. "How'd you manage that? Last time you were here in that getup, you wore a skirt."

Fitz shrugged. "It's been four years, the Pentagon finally got tired of female officers demanding a better uniform."

Anna giggled, then sobered. "Fitz, I need to tell you something. I'm not sure if you'll find it a comfort or a pain, but I need you to know that Elsa loved you."

Fitzwilliam sat so still Anna wasn't sure she was still breathing. The Queen plowed on, "But not the same way you loved her. She wasn't capable of romantic love, at least she didn't think she was. We had talked about it a couple of times, she thought maybe she was broken in some way because she couldn't seem to generate those kind of feelings. For anybody."

Still no response from Fitz. Continuing, Anna said, "but she **was** capable of love, loving her family, and her friends, loving them with all her heart. She loved your courage, your integrity, your willingness to do the right thing and stand up for people who needed protecting. You were a good friend to her, and friends are hard to come by for a royal." Anna took a deep breath. "I wanted you to know that."

A long moment of silence. Fitz finally drew a long, shuddering breath and looked at Anna, a wan smile on her lips. "Thank you, Your – "

"Anna, Fitz. Always Anna in private."

"– Anna. That does comfort me. She was an extraordinary woman. I'll never forget her." Fitz stood. "And now I should get going. I know damn well how exhausted you are. Do what Bit tells you, LT. He'll never steer you wrong."

"LT! I'm WAY past LT now, Fitz!"

"To me and Bit, you'll be LT until your retirement parade, Anna!" Now Fitz was really smiling, and was glad to see Anna return the smile. _"She'll heal. She's got the steel in her to get through this."_ Fitz knew all about loss and grief, a professional warrior dealt with those or got out of the gig.

The two women got up from their chairs and walked to the door arm in arm. Bit was waiting, on guard with two other Queen's Own. He cocked an eyebrow at Fitz in question.

"It's all good, Bit. All good." Fitz hugged Anna, then walked down the hallway toward the exit to the public parts of the castle.

"Bedtime, Bit. I'm going to sleep for a week." Anna was fading fast.

"Hardly, Your Majesty. The coronation is only three days off."

Bit had almost forgotten how many swear words Anna knew. She now refreshed his memory, throwing in a couple of new languages to boot.

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

The coronation was weeks past and Anna settled in to the job of 'Queening', as she had used to tease Elsa. The empty hole in her heart hadn't stopped hurting yet, but the pain had dulled enough that Anna was able to get through most days without bursting into tears at something that reminded her of her sister.

Today that was going to be hard.

"The car is ready, Your Majesty." Bit Lockhart stood just inside the door to her office. Anna was sitting in the window well, looking out over the fjord in a melancholy funk. She dreaded what the day had in store.

"Okay, coming." Anna hopped down and walked out past Bit. "No calls, Aggie. Not today. I don't care who it is, I'm not to be disturbed."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Aggie Vollan had served Elsa since she was 'only' the Crown Princess. Now she served as Anna's private secretary.

The ride didn't take long – Arendelle wasn't a very large country as far as surface area went. Most of the flat land was close to the fjord and Arendelle city. Anna scowled as the small motorcade pulled up in front of an airplane hanger. She stepped out of her car and followed Bit inside.

This hanger did not hold an airplane. Not a complete airplane, at any rate. Laid out on the floor with precise and painstaking care was the wreckage of Crocus Prime, Elsa's airplane. Every piece of debris that had been recovered over weeks of meticulous searching had been brought here, identified and tagged, and placed where it would be in an intact aircraft. The black boxes had been recovered and the data extracted and analyzed, along with the datastreams that had been recorded over ACARS and ADSB. Modern fly-by-wire aircraft were basically software wrapped in aluminum, and the ones and zeros that described the last flight of Crocus Prime would be examined literally bit by bit.

"Welcome, Your Majesty. We are set up in one of the conference rooms for this presentation. If you would please follow me?" Admiral Haldorsen bowed and waved Anna toward a doorway to the rear of the hanger. She focused on the doorway, gritting her teeth and refusing to look at the remains of her sister's plane.

Once everyone was settled around the conference table and introductions made, the Admiral turned the meeting over to one of the experts from the accident analysis office. Anna was impressed that the woman didn't seem to be intimidated by her audience in the least.

"I am Dr. Kjersti Offerdahl, Chief Scientist of the Arendelle Safety Directorate. The ASD is responsible for investigation and analysis of major events that are beyond the jurisdiction or resources of other agencies. Today I will review the preliminary findings into the tragic circumstances surrounding the crash of Flight A001, Crocus Prime, which resulted in the death of all souls on board."

Anna tried to pay attention as Dr. Offerdahl briskly reviewed the data and what had happened to Elsa's plane. The presentation used a lot of technical terms that Anna could only understand by making assumptions from the context. She had begun to zone out when she picked up on what the scientist was saying.

" – were no indications of anything wrong mechanically. There is no damage to the wreckage that is not consistent with a high speed impact with the water, so we have ruled out an explosion or other catastrophic event as a cause." Offerdahl paused to take a sip of water from the glass in front of her.

Before she could go on, Anna interrupted. "Dr. Offerdahl, forgive my impatience, but could you cut to the chase and tell us what killed my sister?"

Offerdahl looked uncomfortable and shifted uneasily from foot to foot. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and said, "We don't know."

Anna stared at her in disbelief. "You. Don't. Know. You don't KNOW?" As Anna's voice rose, so did she, until she was standing up and leaning forward, her fists on the table and her face twisted in a rictus of disbelief. Bit had seen her in this mode before, but others around the table had not, and the civilians found themselves leaning back, away from the wrath of their monarch.

The one person not intimidated was Kjersti Offerdahl. She waited patiently for Anna to calm down a bit, then suggested, "Your Majesty, I know that sounds like an impossible statement, but if you will allow me, I will lay out the rationale for our analysis."

In the face of the calm and unruffled demeanor of the scientist, Anna slowly sat down and brought her emotions under control. "My apologies, Doctor. Please, go on."

"The result of our analysis is … baffling, to be sure, but it is unambiguous. Crocus One left Brussels precisely on schedule, had a normal climb out to assigned altitude and a smooth cruise phase of the flight. They had called Arendelle ATC for approach vector and descent pattern and had reached an altitude of 10,000 feet. All conversations with the flight crew, and all telemetry from ACARS and ADSB were normal, with no indications of any anomalies."

Admiral Haldorsen raised his hand and asked, "ACARS? ADSB? I'm just a simple sailor, Doctor."

"Those are devices for streaming data to and from aircraft, including navigation information and performance data of the many systems on board," replied Offerdahl. She waited for Haldorsen's slight nod of understanding, then continued, "At precisely 2315 UTC, those data streams stopped. Crocus One's transponder disappeared from the radar, although the actual ping of the physical aircraft continued to be tracked until it, too, vanished. ATC immediately tried to raise the flight crew via radio when the transponder blanked out on radar. No response was received."

There was total silence in the room.

"Has this ever happened before?" asked Admiral Haldorsen.

"No, not like this. Aircraft can lose communications channels, even when they are redundant. I've checked with the NTSB and EASA. Nowhere in any of the incidents they have on file have the data links gone down at precisely the same moment as the transponder fails." Offerdahl looked grim.

"What about the black boxes?" Those, Anna knew would have recorded much data and stored it in their memory chips.

"We were able to recover both of them – the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. They were slightly damaged but readable. Both of them stopped recording at the same precise moment as the other data streams." Offerdahl had actually been glad that nothing from the cockpit had been recorded. It had taken two minutes for Crocus One to descend to sea level. She had listened to enough after-crash recordings to know approximately what the crew would be saying – professionals, they would be frantically trying to regain control of the plunging aircraft. But usually the last words on the tape were some obscenity as the pilots realized that they had failed.

She had long since schooled herself against imagining the growing panic in the passenger cabin during an emergency like this one.

"Stopped recording? THAT I thought was impossible, those things are specifically designed to survive damn near anything!" Haldorsen's voice was incredulous.

Offerdahl nodded. "They are. This is completely outside all previous experience. This is one time that our switchover to all digital technology may have bitten us in the as – uh, backside."

"Then what do we know of the actual crash? Nothing?" Haldorsen asked.

"As it turns out, we do have a few pieces of information. The FDR model in Crocus One had an analog component. Based on that information, we know that the plane hit the water 1 minute and 55 seconds after the digital data stopped, which matches the radar ping of the physical aircraft. And because there is an accelerometer, also analog, we know it was traveling at 453 miles per hour when it crashed."

Offerdahl looked around the room at the horrified faces of her audience. She went on, because she knew she had to take their minds off the mental picture of that crash.

"Recovery operations were able to find most of the aircraft. The debris field was relatively compact, indicating the plane hit the water in a nose-down attitude. As I mentioned earlier, there was no indication of an explosion or fire or any other circumstance that could have destroyed the airplane. All damage was completely consistent and explainable by the crash into the water at high speed." She hesitated, then said, " – and the autopsies confirmed that the injuries were all consistent with the trauma of the crash. Nothing to indicate that the passengers and crew died from any cause other than the plane impacting the water."

Again, she waited a few minutes for the audience to absorb what they had just heard.

Finally, Anna looked up at the woman standing at the head of the table. "Doctor? I'm confused. I can't wrap my head around this. If I am hearing you correctly, there was nothing in the data from your analysis of this crash to indicate there was anything to cause it? The plane fell out of the sky for no good reason? That makes no sense!"

"Your Majesty, I agree. But there is one explanation for this catastrophe that fits the data we have."

"Well? Tell us, damn it!" Anna was losing her cool quickly.

"Your Majesty, I don't know how, but Crocus One was brought down deliberately by an act of sabotage. Nothing else explains this data." Offerdahl looked around the table with grave concern. "Queen Elsa and her entourage were murdered."

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

 **Author's Note:** Okay, first things first – The Russian word Aleksei used on Hans translates as 'asshole', just to save you all a trip to Google Translate. I would have used something stronger, but idioms like that are best obtained from a native speaker, and I don't know anyone who speaks Russian.

And so we begin the quest to figure out who murdered Elsa. And why. Not sure where this is going just yet, so please buckle up and come along for the ride.

Oh, and reviews are love.


	3. Chapter 3

**Long Live the Queen – Chapter 3**

" – recovery operations were able to find most of the aircraft. The debris field was relatively compact, indicating the plane hit the water in a nose-down attitude. As I mentioned earlier, there was no indication of an explosion or fire or any other circumstance that could have destroyed the airplane. All damage was completely consistent and explainable by the crash into the water at high speed." She hesitated, then said, " – and the autopsies confirmed that the injuries were all consistent with the trauma of the crash. Nothing to indicate that the passengers and crew died from any cause other than the plane impacting the water."

Dr. Kjersti Offerdahl, Chief Scientist of the Arendelle Safety Directorate, waited a few minutes for her audience to absorb what they had just heard.

Finally, Anna looked up at the woman standing at the head of the table. "Doctor? I'm confused. I can't wrap my head around this. If I am hearing you correctly, there was nothing in the data from your analysis of this crash to indicate there was anything to cause it? The plane fell out of the sky for no good reason? That makes no sense!"

"Your Majesty, I agree. But there is one explanation for this catastrophe that fits the data we have."

"Well? Tell us, damn it!" Anna was losing her composure quickly.

"Your Majesty, I don't know how, but Crocus One was brought down deliberately by an act of sabotage. Nothing else explains this data." Offerdahl looked around the table with grave concern. "Queen Elsa and her entourage were murdered."

x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x

As the room exploded into an uproar, Anna slumped back into her chair, unable to make sense of what she had just been told. _"Murder? MURDER? Oh my gods, Elsa, I lost you to a damned assassin?"_

Anna wasn't sure what difference it made – Elsa was still gone. She pulled her attention back to the room when there was a loud 'thump' and a voice yelling, "NO! We are not going to put this out as the analysis of the accident cause!" The voice belonged to Admiral Haldorsen, who was standing and glaring at everyone else around the table. " – and this was not murder!"

One of his subordinates said, "But, Admiral – "

"I said NO, dammit!" Haldorsen repeated. "Don't you understand? We still don't know ANYTHING! If we were to put out an accident report with these facts and claimed it proved that Queen Elsa was murdered, we'd be laughingstocks!"

Dr. Offerdahl protested, "But Admiral, we have always been totally transparent with accident analyses. This goes against everything in our mission statement."

"Please, Doctor, be seated. I'll explain. Your Majesty? With your permission?" Haldorsen had recovered his equilibrium. He rubbed the reddened fist he had used to slam the table and get everyone's attention.

Anna nodded, she was still too shocked to speak.

Everyone settled back into their seats, including Dr. Offerdahl. The Admiral strode to the head of the table, made a hand signal to Bit. Bit nodded, got up, went to the door, opened it and spoke briefly to the two guards stationed there. Once he returned to his seat, he nodded at the Admiral and sat back with folded arms.

"Doctor Offerdahl, I require you to assemble every member of your team that has sufficient knowledge of the analysis you presented today to come to the same conclusion you just presented to us." The Admiral spoke with an intensity Anna had never seen from him before.

"Why?" Offerdahl looked stubborn. She didn't understand where this was going but she didn't like it.

"Because the Queen was not murdered – she was assassinated. There is a political scheme in play here." He paused to take a deep breath. "That puts an entirely different perspective on this, which is why I am going to swear them to total secrecy concerning all aspects of the accident that took Queen Elsa's life. I'm declaring this as 'Crown Secret Ultimate', and require their oaths. The breaking of those oaths will result in a star chamber trial for treason and imprisonment until the Crown decides that that the traitor can be released without further endangering Arendelle."

This declaration was met by stunned disbelief around the table. Even Anna was slow to absorb the significance of what the Admiral had just said.

"No, that goes against everything we're committed to in seeking the truth," replied Offerdahl. Her stubborn look had become angry.

"Doctor, either you bring them here or I will order them rounded up and confined in a very comfortable location with absolutely no contact with the outside world until this is resolved. Along with you, I might add." The Admiral was not taking no for an answer.

She stared at him for so long Anna was sure Haldorsen was about to summon a squad of Marines, but Offerdahl took a deep breath, shook her head, then said, "Okay. Okay, I don't like it but there is obviously something going on here beyond the surface. Let me go get them. The entire team worked in this building, they are all upstairs in the labs." She rose and started toward the door.

"Mr. Lockhart, if you would have someone accompany Dr. Offerdahl?" instructed the Admiral.

She whirled and looked at him in astonishment. "Don't you trust me?" she demanded.

The Admiral suddenly looked weary. "It's not a matter of trust, Doctor. Frankly, it's for your own safety." He waved her off.

While they waited for Bit and Offerdahl to return with the rest of the team in tow, Haldorsen looked at the people still seated at the conference table. There were a few who weren't part of the military. "In the meantime, I will administer the oath to all of you, then dismiss those of you who do not have a Need To Know of the rest of this investigation. You will be curious. I urge you to stifle that curiosity and suppress the memory of what you have heard today."

It took about ten minutes to administer the oaths and send the people who weren't going to be part of the investigation away. It went faster because Anna was physically present and could actually take the oaths directly. It was a nit to pick, but …

After all the oaths had been taken and the dire instructions about the consequences of breaking the oath were explained in bloody detail, the staff of the Safety Directorate was dismissed.

"You're on leave as of now, people. You have a week off. Tell everyone it was compensation for the long hours you've put in on this investigation. If anyone asks about it, your response is that there was a catastrophic mechanical failure that we are going to review with the manufacturer, and that any further details are classified for obvious reasons." Admiral Haldorsen looked dour, then shrugged. "And, technically, that is actually true."

"Not you, Doctor." He stopped Offerdahl from leaving. She stood impatiently tapping her foot until the room was down to Anna, Bit, the Admiral, and three other members of Arendelle's General Staff.

Once the door was closed, the Admiral said to the scientist, "You are officially declared read in on this matter, which is classified Crown Secret Ultimate. We'll come up with a code word name for it later. I'll need your technical expertise going forward." He looked around and continued, "Your Majesty, with your permission, I need us to move this meeting to a SCIF at the Arendelle Foreign Ministry Building."

Anna nodded, she knew what a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility was, she had even attended briefings in an American SCIF during one of her deployments. _"What in the hell is going on? I get it that an act of sabotage isn't something we want the snoopies blabbing all over the airwaves, but this … "_

The little group left the conference room and went out to the cars for the drive back to the city.

 **0~0~0~0~0~0~0**

Anna was crawling through the mud and decaying vegetation of the jungle, trying to be as silent as possible. The stench made her gag, she clamped her jaw shut and swallowed the foul bile at the back of her throat. _"Bit's dead, so's Vasilek, now they're looking for me and they won't give up – "_

She stopped at the sound of someone ahead. Very slowly, she brought her weapon to the ready, got a good sight picture on the outline of the man obscured by the brush, took a deep breath, held it, and fired. A scream, the sound of thrashing, then silence.

Anna waited a few minutes, in case her stalker had friends. Finally, she cautiously stood up and moved carefully to where her victim lay sprawled in the mud of the trail. Anna looked down to see the man's wide frightened eyes and flinched when he grabbed at her trouser leg. She tried to pull back but his grip was too strong.

 _"Oh my God, he's just a kid!"_ He couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen years old. Her shot had hit him in the throat, and he was choking on his own blood. She watched in horror as he took a last rattling breath before his hand fell away, his big brown eyes blank and unseeing.

 **0~0~0~0~0~0~0**

"NO!" Anna screamed and flailed and fell out of bed.

She lay tangled in her blanket on the floor, sweat pouring down her face, her breath heaving like she had just run a marathon, her head pounding like Thor was practicing his best hammer symphony on it. _"Dammit, Anna, that's the third time in the last fucking month!"_ The repugnant ghastliness of the accident briefing yesterday had struck deep into her psyche, dredging up more memories she had tried to convince herself that she had managed to bury and ignore.

Trying to untangle herself and get to her feet, she nearly twisted an ankle on the empty Brennevin bottle she had tried to crawl into. The liquor dulled the pain, at least until she blacked out. But the payback was a bitch.

Finally managing to get off the floor, she stumbled to the bathroom and emptied her stomach. When she was sure it was all out, she rinsed out her mouth, turned on the shower, threw off the t-shirt and boy shorts she slept in, then stepped under the showerhead and let the cold water flush the toxins out of her as best it could.

Anna returned to her bedroom with a towel wrapped around her hair and rummaged in the dresser. Sweat pants and a ratty "Arendelle Fighting Reindeer" t-shirt completed the ensemble. Not bothering with slippers, she managed to stagger into the little kitchenette of the Queen's Chambers, put on a teapot with three or four chamomile tea bags in it, then sat and waited for her tea to heat up.

 _"I hate this place. I hate they made me move in here. At least Elsa had three years to get used to missing Mama and Papa before she had to move their stuff out and move her stuff in. They gave me less than a month, damn them."_ Anna's thoughts were resentful, furious at having to displace Elsa's belongings while the wound was still raw, before even the smallest amount of healing could take place. She was so overwhelmed by her grief that she had 'delegated' _(dumped, her conscience whispered.)_ the task of packing up Elsa's things to Gerda. The suite was still rather sparsely furnished, Anna's possessions looking forlorn and lonely.

She was sitting in the window well sipping the tea and brooding when there was a quiet knock on the doorframe and a voice asked, "Anna?" It was Gerda, wearing a robe over her nightgown.

"Yeah." Anna took a sip of her tea. _"Needs more honey,"_ she thought.

She moved as though to go to the counter, but Gerda stepped up and said, "I'll get it."

Anna slumped back in the window well and watched Gerda refill the mug and add enough honey to help Anna rehydrate. She brought it to the young woman and said, "I'll make another pot."

Guilt stabbed Anna at the imposition she was putting on the older woman. Gerda had been on the castle staff since before either of the two princesses had been born, and had been the personal maidservant to Elsa since she was eight. She had been close to Anna as well, and now that Anna was the Queen it seemed sometimes that Gerda had a psychic sense of what her young charge was doing and feeling.

"It's 3 am, why aren't you asleep?" mumbled Anna. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't. I was reading." The lie came easily to Gerda.

"Yeah, right … " Anna snorted and took a drink of the tea. It did soothe her stomach and she felt herself nodding off.

"Come now, you little pagan! Let's get you back to bed!" Gerda's brisk tone convinced Anna to come along. She took the empty mug from Anna's hand, ignoring the tremors, placed it on the counter, then shooed the young woman into the bedroom.

Anna noticed that the damp towels were gone, the bed had been made, and she suspected the bathroom had been tidied. She crawled into the bed and let Gerda tuck her in. _"Tired. I'm so … damn … tired."_ She was asleep before Gerda turned out the lights and left the room.

Kai was waiting for Gerda in the hallway, a ratty old robe over his pajamas. "How is she?"

"Not good, Kai. These … episodes … seem to be coming more frequently. The nightmares, the drinking." Gerda sighed in frustration. "And the things she heard yesterday, the visualization of what happened to Elsa …" Gerda had to choke back a sob, she had loved the young Queen like her own child.

Kai reached over to pat his colleague's arm in a small attempt to comfort her. "You know Elsa was worried that Anna had unresolved PTSD from her combat tours. And that Anna refused to even accept there was such a thing. Now?" The Royal Chamberlain shook his head. "Losing Elsa, and like this? I think we're lucky she's still sane at all."

"Outwardly sane. This is hardly healthy coping behavior." Gerda was very worried, Kai could tell.

"Well, what can we do about it? Who bells the cat? Or, rather, who gets to be stern with the Queen?" Kai asked.

Gerda's silence was the only answer.


End file.
